Buffing wheel



June 14, 1960 F. E. HENDRICKSON BUFFING WHEEL Filed April 4, 1958 INVENTOR. fizz? film Wilson Patented June 14, 1960 BUFFING WHEEL Fritz E. Hendrickson, South Elgin, 111., assignor of onehalf to Murray Ireland, Elgin, Ill.

Filed Apr. 4, 1958, Ser. No. 726,466

Claims. (Cl. 51-193) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 646,733, filed March 18, 1957, now U.S. Patent No. 2,867,062, issued January 6, 1959.

The invention relates to improvements in bufling wheels and is more particularly concerned with the simple and inexpensive construction and novel arrangement of fabric bufiing elements and their mounting means on a central mounting member or hub.

In the patent aforesaid, a plurality of bufiing elements, each fabricated from one or more layers of fabric, are mounted on the periphery of a central mounting disc to form an annular buffing section and are so spaced circumferentially as to permit overlapping of the end portions of adjacent elements. A wheel constructed in that manner presents a uniformly soft peripheral work surface and is very efficient, but it very often is objectionable in use owing to the generation of noises. These noises are believed to result, in part, from uncontrolled movement of the overlapping end portions and their projection into the air stream on each face of the Wheel, and, in part, because of the variations in the thickness or width of the peripheral work surface.

Generation of objectionable noises is overcome in the wheel disclosed herein, which Wheel presents'a wider, more useful peripheral Work surface and, when a number of such wheels are grouped together on a common axis, fewer Wheels are required to provide a given Width. The wheel of the present invention also contains more air pockets or voids and consequently runs cooler.

Furthermore, the butfing elements disclosed in the patent aforesaid have heavy substantially stiff patches, which very often are of leather, surrounding the area receiving the mounting bracket. The use of such a patch increases material and manufacturing costs. In the present disclosure the bufiing elements are provided with a soft pliable material patch and are attached to the disc by a novel mounting bracket having a novel reinforcing cup associated therewith.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a bufling wheel with an annular bufling section comprised of buffing elements having a large number of pleated plies of soft material and wherein the bufiing elements are closely spaced so as to crowd the material in each element into a closely arranged air cooled mass.

Another object is to provide a buffing wheel of the character described with a wide peripheral working surface.

Another object is to provide a buifing wheel of the type having a plurality of flexible bufling elements thereon and novel means to secure said elements to the wheel disc.

Another object is to provide a buffing wheel structure of a character described that is comparatively silent during operation.

Another object is to provide an annular bufiing section having a buifing surface of substantially uniform width and having substantially uniform bufiingqualities throughout its body.

With the foregoing and such other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference are employed to identify corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 is a side face view of a bufiing wheel embodying the features of the present invention, showing the wheel partially broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the peripheral Work surface of the wheel;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a blank of multi-ply fabric used in forming a bufiing element;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig, 3, but showing the blank folded upon itself to provide a center pleat;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of an unmounted butting element;

'Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on line 7- 7 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the accompanying drawings and particularly to Fig. l, the improved buffing wheel includes a central mounting member or hub 11 preferably fabricated'from a circular metal plate or disc having a flanged axial opening 12 to receive a mounting shaft (not shown). The disc may be reinforced by a plurality of radial ribs 13 so as to impart maximum rigidity thereto and prevent lateral Wobbling or wandering. A plurality, of mutually spaced apart buffing elements 14 are secured to the peripheral margin of the disc =11 to provide an annular bufiing section. In the present instance there are sixteen such elements attached to the disc shown but, in any event, there are a sufiicient number of elements 14 to insure that they are so closely arranged as to cause each element to be crowded or gathered circumferentially into a substantially compact mass.

Each buffing element 14 comprises one or more layers of textile material, preferably three. This material is cut on a bias with respect to the weave so as to resist ravelling and yet provide a frayed buffing edge. The multi-ply thickness of textile material is formed into a blank 14a, as illustrated in Fig. 3. This blank is substantially oval-shaped with substantially semi-circular end edges 15 and straight connecting side edges 16. It is then folded along transverse parallel fold lines 17 and 18 to provide a medial transverse accordion pleat 19 (Fig. 4).

All three thicknesses of the pleat 19 are pierced centrally, as at 21, to provide an opening to receive a mount ing bracket. This piercing may be formed in the blank before or after pleating. The area around the mounting opening 21 may be reinforced, if desired, by a patch 23 which preferably consists of a piece of stifier fabric, such as webbing material. Rows of stitches 24 secure the patch 23 in place and, preferably, also secure the blank in its pleated condition. The blank or bufling element, thus pleated, pierced, reinforced and stitched, is now complete and may be mounted upon the mounting hub 11.

In mounting the pleated bufiing element 14 on the disc 11, said element is folded upon itself along its longitudinal axis 22 into a substantially semi-circular condition, as illustrated in Fig. 5, with the patch 23 on the inside of the fold. An elongated cup-shaped mounting inember 25, fabricated from sheet metal stock, is seated inside the longitudinal fold 22 over the patch 23. The member 25 has a centrally located slot 26 therein that registers with the piercing 21 in the pleated bufiing element so as'to receive-therethrough the leg portion 27 of a T-shaped metal bracket 28. The leg portion 27 of said bracket is then secured, as by rivets 29 to the disc 11.

Because ,of the relative number of buffing elements mounted on aidisc of a given diameter, in this instance sixteen, the end portions of each, bufiing element projecting circumferentially beyond the ends of its elongated mounting member 25, tightlytabut the end portions of the next adjacent bufiing element and all are displaced circumferentially by such abutment or crowding sufficiently to randomly bunch or gather said end. portions into a radially. wrinkled or crimped mass.

ing surface of substantial uniform width and density and it is further provided with a multiplicity of radial vents or voids between the randomly arranged radial wrinkles therein which serve to insure adequate ventilation for air cooling of the wheel while it is in use. Also, the substantial uniform width and density of the buffing wheel insures quiet operation because there are no substantially loose end or flap portions to create air. current obstructions.

As many possible embodiments may be made in the invention, and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matters hereinbefore set forth or-shown in the ac-' companying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.-

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Abuifing-wheel comprising a central disc adapted to be mounted'on a shaft for rotation therewith, a plurality of flexible bufiing elements disposed about the periphery of said disc, each of said elements having a central opening therethrough and being folded along a fold substantially coincident with said opening, an elongated rigid cup-shaped member seated in the fold, said member having an opening therein in register with the central opening, and a T-shaped bracket mounting the bufiing element on said disc, said element having its head nested in the cup-shaped member with its leg porriphery of said disc, each of said elements having a central opening therethrough and being folded along afold substantially coincident'with said opening, a patch surrounding the opening, an elongated rigid cup-shaped member seated against the patch, said member having an opening therein arranged in register with the central opening, and a T-shaped bracket mounting the bufling element on the disc, said element having its head nested in the cup-shaped member with its leg portion extended through the registeringopeningsand secured to the periphery of said disc."

3. A'bufiing wheelcomprising a hub adapted to be mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith, a plurality of flexible buffing elements centrallypleated and mutually disposed about'the periphery'of said hub, said elements being spaced apartcircumferentiallyfa distance less than their width so as to crowd the material of the bufling elements circumferentially to present substantially uniform material thicknesses throughout the peripheral work surface of the wheel, each of said elements having a central opemng therethrough and being folded transversely of the pleat substantially coincident with said opening, a patch surrounding said opening and disposed inside said fold, an elongated rigid cup-shaped member seated against said patch, said member having an opening therein arranged in register with the central opening, and a headed bracket mounting the buffing element on said hub, said bracket having its head nested in the cupshaped member with its shank extended through the registering openings and secured to the periphery of said hub.

4. A bufiing wheel comprising a hub adapted to be mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith, a plurality of flexible bnffing elements centrally pleated and disposed about the periphery of said hub, each of said elements having a central opening therethrough and being folded transversely of the pleat substantially coincident with said. opening, an elongated rigid cup-shaped member seated against the inside of said fold, said member having an opening therein arranged in register with the central opening, and a headed bracketmounting the bufling element on said hub, said bracket having its head nested in the cup-shaped member with its shank extended through the registering openings and secured to the periphery of said hub. V

5. In a bufiing wheel, including a disc-like mounting hub and a plurality of circumferentially spaced buffing elements of pliable buffing material secured to the periphery of the hub to define an annular bufling section, means securing eachtbufling element to said disc comprising an elongated rigid cup-shaped member embedded in said element, and a headed bracket havinglits head nested in said member and its leg projected through the member and element and secured to the disc.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS i Hendrickson- Nov. 6,11951 

